Baker Boy, Julia Jacklin and Darren Hayes: the best new Australian music for July | australian music

Baker Boy ft Bernard Fanning – Wishing You Good Luck

For fans of: Jurassic 5, De La Soul, Anderson .Paak

Baker Boy was right to recognize Fanning as a legit soul singer, his gritty yet sweet tones perfectly suited to provide a vocal hook on a hip-hop track. Rather than simply relying on the hit power of the original song to secure an easy win (see: Puff Daddy), Baker Boy has forged his own creation that uses elements of the old hit to arrive at a summer jam. gripping a million miles from the original. While Fanning’s classic is about heartbreak and loss, this new iteration is about celebration and good vibes, sincere appreciation and hope, rather than being a bitter kiss. Instead of dwelling on his own grief, Baker Boy offers love to someone else going through a tough time – a simple turnaround that makes all the difference in the world.

For more: Listen to Gela, Baker Boy’s excellent debut album.

Darren Hayes – Poisoned Blood

For fans of: MGMT, James Blake, Wild Garden

It’s been over a decade since Hayes released an album, but his status in the music world has only grown since then. This is largely due to the enduring love for Savage Garden, a band that scored two No. 1 singles in the US and more “best of” compilations than studio albums. While Hayes’ solo work has strayed far from Savage Garden, his ear for a melody and superior songwriting skills shine through no matter what genre he tackles. Poison Blood is quite an experimental track, with dark lyrics that hint at inherited addiction and trauma, and creepy staccato synth. It’s a slow-burning piece of art-pop, with Hayes’ unmistakable falsetto lifting the chorus. The bridge is where the song launches into hyperspace, with breathtaking vocals that reach Mariah levels. What a masterstroke!

For more: Hayes has announced an Australian tour for January and February 2023.

Julia Jacklin – I Was Neon

For fans of: The Dandy Warhols, Modern Lovers, Courtney Barnett

Jacklin’s latest single was a meditation on religious indoctrination, one of many heavy topics she’s delved into during her impressive songwriting career. Here, she puts the pedal to the floor with a few power chords and a hypnotic chorus: “Am I going to get lost again?” “I like the person I am,” she protests, one of the few lyrics that sees her trying to avoid her wild, “neon” youth. The simple and repetitive structure makes this song the perfect festival to bond with.

For more: Pre Pleasure is out August 26.

RY X – Thousand Knives

For fans of: Sleepy Jackson, Bon Iver, Rhye

Ry Cuming grew up just outside Yamba, NSW and remains mostly unknown in his home country. Yet somehow he entered Bowerbird Drake’s superstar circle and produced the song Sticky from his new album, which entered the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 6 ago. a few weeks. Those looking to explore RY X records based on this unlikely connection will be shocked, as the lush, harmonious folk of A Thousand Knives belongs less to a sweaty Florida nightclub and more to a cabin in the mountains. This is a truly transcendent single from his fourth full album, the equally tranquil Blood Moon. Just put on that song, relax, and float downstream.

For more: Blood Moon is out now, or check out his equally excellent album, 2019’s Unfurl.

“Belongs less in a sweaty Florida nightclub than in a cabin in the mountains”… RY X. Photography: Kacie Tomita

Stella Donnelly – Flood

For fans of: Missy Higgins, Ben Folds, Alex G

Donnelly said her latest single, written in the rain-soaked depths of a Melbourne winter lockdown, is a “sad little adventure”. While lyrically this may be true, the actual melody belies any moody start the song might have had, with a cheerful drumbeat, sparse guitars and plunging piano accompanying a cheerful little melody. Donnelly’s charming rocker voice is well suited to paperback tales like this, the lack of pretentiousness rendered perfectly in one-liners such as “I’m a stitch down on your new scarf, I keep hope alive.”

For more: His second album Flood is released on August 26. Listen to the first track, Lungs.

Ryan Sterling – How time flies

For fans of: David Crosby, Jayhawks, early Wilco

The passage of time is one of the most well-worn songwriting tropes, simply because it is the most universal experience known to mankind; memories fade, people leave, songs are written. Sterling has an impressive backlog of albums and his latest, Specks of Golden Dust, was released on legendary Sydney label Half a Cow, a very fitting place for this 1960s folk. opening of his new album, and despite the title, Sterling is in no rush to rush to this laconic tune, his unique style of fingerpicking and his warm voice as comforting as a lazy day spent in the living room, while diving. the bombing slide adds a country touch to proceedings.

For more: Check out Specks of Golden Dust, then backtrack through its entire catalog.

Ben Lee ft Washington – Parents Get High

Ben Lee.
“A charming and relatable song” … Ben Lee

For fans of: Architecture in Helsinki, K Records, Her & Him

Early last year, Lee and his wife, actor Ione Skye, hosted a series of ramshackle parties in Sydney, aptly titled Weirder Together. Between stand-up and improvisational theater, Lee performed a new song inspired by the “strange” parties his parents threw when he was a child, where all the normally sane adults laughed a little too hard, much to the dismay of the children. It’s safe to say that Lee has since thrown his share of similar parties, and this charming and relatable song stems from those two experiences. Megan Washington provides soothing backing vocals that add a lovely tonal quality to this plonky ode to drug use and childhood wonderment, two things that apparently don’t need to be mutually exclusive.

For more: Ben Lee’s I’m Fun album is out August 19.

Kav Temperley and Katy Steele – Graduation Day

For fans of: Little Birdy, Eskimo Joe, End of Fashion

As two of Perth’s finest songwriters and singers, it’s surprising that Eskimo Joe’s Temperley and Little Birdy Steele singer have never collaborated until this romantic, nostalgic ode. Temperley is stuck in stasis, doing the same things he did in a small town as a teenager, while Steele is long gone. Musically, it’s a driving, lush, layered pop track, with more than a passing resemblance to the second half of the Eskimo Joe catalog. Their two voices complement each other well, and it’s a joy to hear Steele’s stunning vocals for the first time since his 2016 solo album, Human.

For more: Kav Temperley hits the road this month for a regional tour, starting July 14 at Froth in Exmouth, Western Australia.

Waax – Reading Receipts

WAX.
Waax, whose song Read Receipts talks about being “left on read”. Photography: dew process

For fans of: PJ Harvey, Placebo, Belly

Drake’s new song, Texts Go Green, tells of the particular heartbreak of having your iMessage texts blocked. Similarly, WAAX’s explosive new single refers to being “left on read” – when a missive was seen by its recipient, who did not respond. This is a very modern problem, and one that will seem as baffling to future generations as the “save” floppy disk icon must be to children today. Waax’s slightly retro sound adds a nice juxtaposition to what is otherwise a straightforward pop-rock track in the vein of PJ Harvey et al.

For more: WAAX’s album, At least I’m Free, will be released on August 5th.

Phil Jamieson – Lights On

For fans of: Grinspoon, Even, Tim Rogers

Even as the savage teenage frontman of Triple J Grinspoon favorites, Jamieson had an unstoppable mastery of melody, whether it was warbling a bouncy melody into a mockney or screaming over distorted wah guitars. Lights On is the third single from his upcoming solo debut, and it’s the strongest offering he’s ever released. With a stuttering guitar riff that belongs on a 1990s Hottest 100 compilation and an irresistible chorus of handclaps and falsetto, it would be a shame if this track wasn’t rewarded with heavy commercial airplay. There’s even a shalala release to make it clear that this is a classic Jamieson number, to be hoisted into the rafters alongside Busy, No Reason and Just Ace.

For more: Somebody Else is released on July 29. Jamieson is on national tour in July and August.

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